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Nicole Roe

Nicole Roe has written 7 posts

I wrote a presentation over 3 years ago for a client about how the discount retailers were rising from the ashes of the recession, somewhat like a phoenix from the flames. Meanwhile those without a distinguishing offer were struggling and failing. At that point I predicted that we would see a continuation of that trend because the recession had taught consumers; when you spend less you don’t automatically get less.

The headlines in the two weeks that have followed Christmas 2016 have indeed shown us that the love of discount retailing gives no indication of abatement. Both Aldi and Lidl reported double digit sales growth amongst headlines such as ‘A Merry Lidl Christmas’. However, the savvier reader will have noticed that neither Lidl nor Aldi reported on their like for like performance. Both retailers have been the subject of rapid expansion which shows no sign of slowing down, Lidl plan to open 50 new stores in 2017 and Aldi plan to open 70.

Earlier this week I wrote how Brexit has impacted upon the retail market (a link to this blog is available here).

In this blog I talk about how grocery retailers have been embroiled in a price war which has slashed margins and in turn, led to higher import costs and general supply chain costs spinning off from leaving the EU. This could mean that grocery retailers have no option but to put up prices again post-Brexit.

Last week it was reported that UK retail sales had taken an unexpected dip in September. This was accompanied by claims that warmer than normal weather could be to blame, or people overspent in August so cut back for a month. However, in addition to the speculation about it being a short term phenomenon, is the very real possibility that the reason is actually due to a dent in consumer confidence which has sprung from the uncertainties surrounding Brexit.

On the day of the Brexit poll I attended a Seminar titled ‘Retail & Town Centres: Where next? put on by the RTPI which included a talk by Mohammed Chaudhri of Experian Decision Analytics. His talk was about the prospects for the UK economy and the retail sector, it looked at how the economy had faired since the recession, explained why there had been a slowdown in 2016 and looked forward to a post Brexit time. The crux of his analysis was that;

NJL has submitted a planning application for 7,920sqm of A1 retail floorspace and a 167sqm Costa Drive Through at a site on Canvey Island on behalf of NewRiver Retail. The application was validated earlier this month (9th June). The site lies on the edge of Canvey Island adjacent to Roscommon Way and to the south of an existing Morrisons Unit. NewRiver purchased the site from Morrisons approximately 12 months ago as part of the ‘Ramsey Portfolio’ of 13 sites.

The ‘out of centre’ site already had outline consent for 4,877sqm of A1 non-food retail floorspace, therefore, NJL undertook 10 months of discussions with the Local Authority and relevant professionals before the application for the larger scheme was submitted. As well as the Costa Drive Through, the proposed development incorporates a 2,369sqm unit for occupation by B&M, a 1,394sqm unit to be occupied by Sports Direct, a 1,602sqm foodstore as well as two other 1,045sqm non-food units.

Black Friday was brought over to the UK from America by Amazon five years ago as its customers began to realise that the US shoppers had the best deals.

In the UK, Black Friday had been led by the three A’s, Amazon, Apple and Asda Wal-Mart. Five years on and the phenomenon has really taken off. But is it a US import that will prove as disastrous to our native habitat as the Grey Squirrel and Mink?

NJL recently gained planning consent for a new Costa drive through restaurant in Clough Road Retail Park Hull on behalf of New River Retail. The consent follows another success at the retail park for the amalgamation of two of the retail units, relaxation of goods restrictions and creation of an outdoor tent display area to facilitate occupation by GO Outdoors.

Working with New River for the past 11 months at Clough Road NJL have overcome issues including flood risk, the retail tests of sequential site location and impact to help with the rejuvenation of the retail park.

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